Meet our Director - Alice

A.Mus.A, L.Mus.A, B.Mus(Hons), M.Mus, MTeach

Wonderland Music was founded by performer and educator Alice Higgins. Over the past 20 years, Alice has taught 1000s of musicians from toddlers to 85 year olds. She is also an accomplished musician having performed as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician across Australia, Europe and Asia. She has three children, 9, 7 and 4 and grew up on the North Shore.

Alice is a highly-qualified instrumental and classroom music teacher, having completed a Master of Teaching and with over 20 years experience teaching violin, viola, piano, orchestras and chamber music. From 2018-2023, she was Head of Strings at St Aloysius’ College, Milsons Point, leading a successful Strings program across the primary and secondary school, which doubled in size under her leadership. She has also taught at Sydney Youth Orchestra, Ascham School, Fort Street High School, Monte Sant’Angelo, Cammeray Public School, St Philip Neri, Northbridge, Roedean College, Brighton, UK and many more schools. Her students have received top results in AMEB Exams from Preliminary to LMusA. They have also completed HSC Music with Encore nominations and successfully passed Private School Scholarship and Conservatorium auditions.

An accomplished musician, Alice completed her AMusA at 15 and LMusA at 17. After school, she completed her Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and  Performing Artists Diploma (Masters) in Freiburg, Germany, where she toured as a soloist and chamber musician. She was a finalist in the National Kendall Violin Competition;  performed Brahms’ Violin Concerto under English National Opera’s Edward Gardner, joined one the UK’s busiest chamber orchestras, Southbank Sinfonia, performing over 60 concerts in 9 months; toured the UK with Dionne Warwick; and played with some of the world’s top ensembles including Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, BBC Concert Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra.

After spending decades in traditional music education, Alice found herself wanting to create something more welcoming and accessible. She wanted a place where the love of music could flourish naturally - an environment where hobbyists and those pursuing higher levels of mastery could thrive.

Wonderland Music was created as a place of joy and encouragement, but also of strong foundations. That’s why Wonderland places rigorous attention to detail in the early years, ensuring that every student builds a solid base for long-term success. The best educational principles are combined with an encouraging atmosphere, allowing students to grow in a nurturing space where their love of music can truly flourish for years to come.

As a child, Alice, a bit of a ‘dreamer’, was constantly told to get out of ‘Wonderland’. In creating Wonderland, her dream is to reclaim Wonderland as a place where all dreamers can thrive.